Mouthful of Meaning: Breaking Down Long German Words

When people think of German, they often imagine a harsh, complicated tongue filled with impossibly long words that seem more like a keyboard mishap than something you’d find in a dictionary. But in fact, it’s much simpler than that! Today, we talk about the intimidating long German words and ways of their formation. So buckle up, and let’s dive in!

German Compound Words 101: Why So Long?

Many people give up on learning German, especially it’s written form, because they find it way too difficult. And we get it – some words do look like they were typed down with a broken space bar. But is it really the truth?

In fact, it’s not. Most of the lengthy terms are just two or more smaller ones merged to form a compound word. There are several types of long German words because you can find them in many parts of speech. 

• Nouns. This is the most common type, where two or more nouns are combined to create a new one. 

Example: Das Krankenhaus [Kranken + haus] – “hospital.” literally means “sick house.”

• Adjectives. These ones are formed by combining adjectives with other adjectives or nouns.

Example: Hochgeschwindigkeit [Hoch + Geschwindigkeit] – “high-speed,” in context, can be used like “high-speed train.”

• Verbs. Although less common, verbs can also be part of compound words.

Example: Staubsaugen [Staub + saugen] – “to vacuum,” combining “dust” and “to suck.”

These are some examples of simple compound terms to help you understand how they are created. And luckily, most of the longest German words are formed the same way.

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Popular Long German Words: Explained

Now that you know what to expect, it’s the perfect time to solidify your knowledge with some practical examples. In the list below, you’ll find common German words that might look intimidating at first but are not as scary as they seem.

1. Das Streichholzschächtelchen – [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çhɔltsˌʃɛçtl̩çən] – Matchbox.

• Das Streichholz [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çhɔlt͡] – Match.
• Die Schächtel [ʃɛçtl̩] – Box.

2. Die Freundschaftsbeziehungen – [ˈfʁɔɪ̯ntʃaftsbəˌʦiːʊŋən] – Friendship relationships.

• Die Freundschaft [fʁɔɪ̯ntʃaft] – Friendship.
• Die Beziehungen [bəˈʦiːʊŋən] – Relationships.

3. Die Unabhängigkeitserklärungen – [ˌʊnʔapˈhɛŋɪçkaɪ̯tseɐ̯klɛːʁʊŋən] – Declarations of independence.

• Die Unabhängigkeit [ʊnʔapˈhɛŋɪçkaɪ̯t] – Independence.
• Die Erklärungen [ɛɐ̯ˈklɛːʁʊŋən] – Declarations.

4. Das Arbeiterunfallversicherungsgesetz – [ˈaʁbaɪ̯tɐˌʊnfalˌfɛɐ̯ˈzɪçəʁʊŋsɡəˌzɛts] – Workers’ accident insurance law.

• Der Arbeiter [aʁbaɪ̯tɐ] – Worker.
• Der Unfall [ʊnfal] – Accident.
• Die Versicherung [fɛɐ̯ˈzɪçəʁʊŋ] – Insurance.
• Das Gesetz [ɡəˈzɛts] – Law or act.

5. Die Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit – [ˈnaːʁʊŋsˌmɪtl̩ʔʊnfɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪçkaɪ̯t] – Food intolerance.

• Das Nahrungsmittel [naːʁʊŋsˌmɪtl̩] – Foodstuffs.
• Die Unverträglichkeit [ʊnfɛɐ̯ˈtʁɛːklɪçkaɪ̯t] – Intolerance.

6. Das Schlittschuhlaufen – [ˈʃlɪtˌʃuːˌlaʊ̯fn̩] – Ice skating.

• Der Schlittschuh [ʃlɪtˌʃuː] – Ice skate.
• Das Laufen [laʊ̯fn̩] – Running or walking.

7. Der Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän – [ˌdoːnaʊ̯ˌdampfʃɪfˌfaːʁtsɡəˌzɛlʃaftskapiˈtɛːn] – Captain of the Danube Steamship Company.

• Die Donau [doːnaʊ̯] – Danube.
• Der Dampf [dampf] – Steam.
• Die Schifffahrt [ʃɪfˌfaːʁt] – Shipping or navigation.
• Die Gesellschaft [ɡəˈzɛlʃaft] – Company.
• Der Kapitän [kapiˈtɛːn] – Captain.

8. Die Neunhundertneunundneunzigtausendneunhundertneunundneunzig – [ˈnɔɪ̯n.hʊndɐtˌnɔɪ̯nʊntˈnɔɪ̯n̩ʦɪçˌtaʊ̯zn̩tˌnɔɪ̯nhʊndɐtˌnɔɪ̯nʊntˈnɔɪ̯n̩ʦɪç] – Nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine.

• Die Neun [nɔɪ̯n] – Nine.
• Das Hundert [hʊndɐt] – Hundred.
• Und [ʊnt] – And.
• Die Neunzig [nɔɪ̯nʦɪç] – Ninety.
• Das Tausend [taʊ̯zn̩t] – Thousand.

9. Das Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz – [ˈʁɪntɐˌkɛntsaɪ̯çnʊŋsˌflaɪ̯ʃ.eˈtiː.kɛtiˌʁʊŋsˌyː.bɐˈvaːχʊŋsˌaʊ̯fˌɡaː.bənˌyː.bɐˈtʁaːɡʊŋ.ɡəˈzɛts] – Law concerning the delegation of duties for the supervision of cattle marking and labeling of beef.

• Die Rinderkennzeichnung [ʁɪntɐˌkɛntsaɪ̯çnʊŋ] – Cattle marking.
• Das Fleisch [flaɪ̯ʃ] – Meat.
• Die Etikettierung [eˈtiː.kɛtiˌʁʊŋ] – Labeling.
• Die Überwachung [yːbɐˈvaχʊŋ] – Supervision.
• Die Aufgabenübertragung [aʊ̯fˌɡaːbənˌyː.bɐˈtʁaːɡʊŋ] – Delegation of duties.
• Das Gesetz [ɡəˈzɛts] – Law.

What is the Longest German Word: Find Out with Promova

Naturally, when you see a word consisting of 50+ letters, it makes you think that the language these words belong to is almost impossible to learn. But that’s not true! With access to proper resources, you can not only learn the longest German word but even improve your fluency level in general. That’s why we want to introduce you to the Promova application.

Our app is created by language enthusiasts eager to make your language learning experience not only beneficial but also fun and engaging. Within the application, you can access numerous interactive lessons to practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, boost your vocabulary, and even enhance your cultural knowledge.

If your goal is to memorize the longest word in German, improve proficiency in Spanish, master Korean Hangul, or learn many other foreign languages, you should definitely give Promova a try. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices, allowing you to access all the materials anywhere and anytime.

Conclusion

Summing up, we can say that although some words in German might look terrifying at first glance, understanding the way they were created really helps you comprehend and memorize them quickly. And we hope that today’s article will help you with that! And that’s it for now, so, as usual, looking forward to seeing you in the next one!